CMT Blog: Archive

Melissa Lawson is the winner of the 2008 Nashville Star Series.

Hi everyone! I am HOME! After 3 months on Nashville Star and 2 AMAZING whirlwind weeks after winning, I am finally HOME! =) I get to spend a couple of weeks with my family, no cameras, no interviews, just us Lawsons hanging out and lovin' on each other. I am really looking forward to this time to recharge my batteries and get ready for the Nashville Star tour kicking off Sept. 12 in St. Louis and to begin working on the album, which will be released around the first of the year. Now let me tell you about what you really want to know about ... CHINA! WOW! I thought Nashville Star was great, but it can't even compare to the last 2 weeks of my life.

View photos from Melissa's trip.

Beijing, China, is such an incredible place. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would go to China, much less have the opportunity to sing at the Olympics. I am so blessed and fortunate to have an amazing fan base supporting and praying me through this. Let me fill you in on the details of my trip ...

We flew out on Aug. 9 from L.A. on a 777. The seats were awesome. It was a little like Star Trek. They recline into a completely flat position, so you can sleep, or a "relaxed" mode as well. There was a personal TV screen for everyone and tons of movie choices.

When lunch was served, we had a 5-course meal. It started with champagne, then some little sushi appetizers, baskets of bread and moved onto a salad and salmon/tuna wrap thing, then the actual dinner course, a mushroom cannelloni, fruit, dessert, little chocolates and coffee or tea. It was an unbelievable amount of food. Unfortunately for me, I am allergic to shellfish and not a huge fan of what I like to call fru-fru food. I'm a simple eater, so, as much as the meal was entertaining, I didn't eat a lot. Honestly, I think I was most nervous about the food in China, because I don't even care for Chinese food at home, so the authentic food scared me. =) Let's just say I was VERY glad that I brought Kashi bars with me. They did have Pizza Hut, which we tried one night, but it was NOT the same Pizza Hut we know here in the U.S. They had squid and other crazy things on the pizza. No custom orders there, either. I think it was the language barrier more than anything. Our first leg of the flight was 12 hours or so and actually went by pretty quickly. I watched a couple of movies, listened to my iPod and wrote in my journal about my week. We then landed in Tokyo, and I was amazed to see how green it was there. It was like the start of spring. There were tons of fields of crops. It was beautiful from the air. We had a layover for about an hour, then loaded onto another plane for another 4 hour trip into Beijing. That flight felt like nothing. I fell asleep before we even got off of the ground and slept till we started our descent. We landed in Beijing at around 8 p.m., which is about 7 a.m. Central time in the U.S. When I got off the plane, I was almost knocked over by the odor. It smelled like dead fish and bad body odor. YUCK!

We went through customs, which was easier than I thought it would be. Got my passport stamped, which was REALLY cool, and then headed out the doors to baggage claim. The Today show was waiting there for us in a car. Oh, the "us" traveling with me were Damon "Goodtimes," who was one of our producers on Nashville Star, and one of the most hilarious guys I've ever met, and Shawn, my manager, and guitar player. Anyways, we got into a sprinter-style van and headed to the hotel. It was dark and rainy outside, so I couldn't see much. We arrived at the hotel, and after a bit of confusion, we discovered that we were accidentally booked at the wrong hotel. The one we were supposed to be at was a good hour drive away, so we went ahead and stayed where we were. It was really nice there. We enjoyed some music in the lobby restaurant and headed to bed. The next day, we decided to fill it up with sightseeing. We went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (which was awesome), the silk factory, the cloisonné factory, the pearl market and, of course, the Great Wall of China. At the Great Wall, we took a cable car up to the top, which was quite out of my comfort zone. There were no seatbelts, and we were hanging hundreds of feet in the air. It was frightening and breathtaking all at the same time. You could see mountains forever. Due to the rain they had the day before, the smog wasn't so bad and allowed us to have a wonderful view. Once at the top, Damon had me sing my single for a bunch of tourists. It was hilarious. Lastly, we tobogganed down. The toboggan was kind of like a bobsled of sorts. We sat on these individual seats and off we went. We filmed the whole ride down. It was really exhilarating. It has been so long since I have allowed myself to "let go" like that. I think losing the weight has definitely helped. I am looking forward to doing many more adventurous things now. I think I let go of a lot of my fears that day. It was very freeing and I had a blast there. The Olympic green was awesome, too. The "bird's nest" and "the cube," where the main events and water events were held, were incredible. The city spent billions of dollars preparing for the Olympics and wanted to make an effort to put their best foot forward. I think they did a fantastic job. I didn't get to see any events, but I DID meet the USA men's gymnastics team that had just won the bronze. That was pretty cool.

The Today show was great! I met Meredith, Al Roker, Hoda and Matt Lauer. Everyone was so welcoming and gracious to me. We had a rehearsal earlier in the day, and there were even a few girls that had voted for me on Nashville Star ... all the way in CHINA. That was an unbelievable feeling to know I was halfway across the world and there were people there who had supported me through this experience. Later that evening, we shot the show live. It was so weird knowing that I was singing at 9:30 p.m. or so in China. My day was almost over, yet back at home, the same day was just getting started. I think overall the performance went well. The audience was so wonderful, and after the song, I took pics and signed autographs for the new Chinese fans. The next morning, we headed out very early. The smog was so overwhelming that day that I was having trouble breathing. You couldn't even see the sun. It was comparable to an early morning Texas fog, where you can't even see 20 feet in front of you. I was definitely glad to be heading back to the U.S. The trip back was a long one. Over 26 hours of traveling.

I ended up back at the Opryland [Hotel] in Nashville, which in a way felt like coming home after 2-1/2 straight months of living there for the show. I had a good night's rest and prepared to sing on the Grand Ole Opry Friday and Saturday night. While at the Opry, I was able to meet Point of Grace, one of my favorite contemporary Christian groups, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Mel Tillis and many other great country legends. It was such an amazing experience. When I was 13, I started singing on the Opry circuit at home. They were small little Opry houses that mimicked the "real" Opry. While I was standing backstage waiting on my turn to go perform, I turned to my husband and said, "I feel like I am home." He agreed. There was an overwhelming sense of peace.

Although I was nervous about the performance, I felt so comfortable. In my life, I never dreamed I would make it to the Opry stage. It was just not something that ever really crossed my mind, so to be standing on the stage, being introduced by Vince Gill, one of the most amazing country vocalists and musicians of all time, was incredible. The audience was so accepting, and there were so many great people backstage. Everyone from the security guards, camera guys, stage managers, the Opry band and the back-up singers, just to name a few, made the whole experience feel like I was with family. I have had such an incredible journey, and I know this is just the start of what is to come. The single has done very well so far, and the fans and radio have been supporting me and the song wholeheartedly. I am really looking forward to seeing all of you on the road during the tour. Keep checking back. I will be blogging as much as possible from here on out. I love ya'll. Thank you for everything. I am so blessed to have been a part of all of this craziness. =) In His Grip, Melissa